Number One

The Soup Lounge by the Zuivelbrug bridge is full of deliciousness.  And the coolest thing about it is an employee named Glenn.  We’re both philosophers and usually have something silly to say to each other.  And occasionally deep.

I was walking by and there was Glenn inside, eating a sandwich.  I pulled an imaginary sandwich out of my pocket and started chomping down.  He laughed.  He put his sandwich behind his back and out front again.  I followed suit.

I can’t remember the next thing he did but I know I copied it perfectly.

Then he pretended to throw the sandwich into the air.  Me too.  I winged mine way up high and there I stood on the cobbles, hand out, waiting for it to come down.  When I finally caught the see-through nourishment, I noticed a woman standing near, smiling at my athletic achievement.  Glenn inside was also grinning.  So we were three.

***

Number Two

A new restaurant has just moved in, two floors down from my apartment … Bento House.  Husband and wife plus father and mother have worked so hard for the last two months to get ready for the grand opening.  Two glass doors installed at the entrance – so lovely.  Plush chairs at brown tables with sweet reddish-brown placemats.

In the early evening, as I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I looked through the doors and saw emptiness.  Everything neat and tidy and vacant.

Sitting at a corner table was dad, his head bowed.  His face was a mask of pain.  And my heart ached for the sadness I witnessed in the face of a human being.  My body had stopped and so had time. 

***

And there we have it … the full span of experiences

We are lifted.  We are crushed

We laugh.  We despair

Hugs please